Elephants and Things
by PrInCeSsFBi
Summary: Grantaire jolted to a halt when the stage shattered on the ground. It was one of the loudest sounds he had ever heard in his life. People were running and screaming and crying and oh…God! There were people on the ground bleeding and not moving. He searched the crowd for his ere were too many people running and screaming."Enjolras!"


**Disclaimer: I do not own Les Miserables**

**However, I will go down with this ship! **

Grantaire sometimes wondered why he even went to these protests. He hated protests! The crowds were unbearable. The only time someone should willingly be in a crowd was at a concert and even then he had to refrain from elbowing at least eight people in the mouth. Generally, the speakers at the protests he went to used an abundance of logical fallacies thrown together like a fruit basket in their speeches. And yes, he realized that was also a logical fallacy but he was past the point of actually caring anymore. God, he could make a better argument six shots of tequila in. Then after all the fuss, nothing actually got accomplished other than a new date for another fucking protest. It was a vicious cycle.

Which is why it baffled so many people when they learned that Grantaire was in one of the top student run organizations on campus for social justice, Les Amis, notorious for forming large protests on the diag. Les Amis seemed like a strange extra circular to devote so much time and effort into for a guy who hated protests.

The answer was simple. He was there for Enjolras and the only reason he was at that godforsaken protest was for Enjolras. Enjolras had the Les Amis standing in the front of the crowd, showing support for whatever the hell the guy on the stage was yammering about. Grantaire casted a sideways glance over. Enjolras was frowning and clearly unimpressed by what he was hearing. His dirty blond curls were shielding his critical blue eyes as they examined the protest signs and the presentation. The whole image was poorly executed, the speakers were more aggressive than persuasive, and the signs looked like they had been thrown together last minute. It must have been driving Enjolras crazy to have to see such a shit show and do absolutely nothing about it.

Sure enough, Enjolras was muttering something to Marius and pointing towards the banner.

Grantaire blew a long impatient breath from between his teeth and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He turned his attention to the large metal stage that creaked and groaned every step Daniel, the speaker, took. That was another thing. Enjolras never moved without a purpose. When he spoke he stood rooted in one spot and when he would switch directions, which was rare, there was always a point to his movement that made it fluid. Daniel was sporadic and practically twitching like he didn't know what to do with his body.

Enjolras for his part was trying to be patient. Daniel had been to every one of Les Amis's rallies with supporters in tow and had personally asked Enjolras to come. He glanced over at Grantaire who was rolling his eyes every few lines of Daniel's speech but keeping quiet unlike whenever Enjolras was speaking. Feuilly and Joly were watching with the same amount of interest as Grantaire but at least were keeping from openly showing the crowd how uninterested they were. Daniel's group often rallied for animal rights and Enjolras liked… He had to look at the poster again to remember what Daniel was protesting against. Elephants poaching. He liked elephants. He could be supportive... for another twenty minutes.

He was staring at the poorly cared for sound system when he heard it. Daniel continued to shout into the microphone, oblivious of the groaning and moaning that wasn't coming from the crowd.

"Enjolras," Marius said, his voice stuttering. His wide eyes were watching the metal supports as they began to sway. Another loud groan broke through Daniel's speech. This time Daniel did stop and stumbled back. A huge crack ripped through the air as the stage pitched to the left.

"Everyone get back!"

A scream broke through the crowd as people shoved to get away. Daniel dropped the microphone as the stage shifted from under his feet and scrambled to jump off. The structure teetered to the left and then forward before the ugly crashing sound of metal echoed throughout the air like a gunshot. Everyone rushed as one massive group, people falling among the masses in the panic. Enjolras shoved Marius from behind. Then it was like he had been sucker punched by a semi truck and all he could hear was the crack of his ribs as they broke inside of him.

Grantaire jolted to a halt when the stage shattered on the ground. It was one of the loudest sounds he had ever heard in his life. People were running and screaming and crying and oh…_God! _There were people on the ground bleeding and not moving. He searched the crowd for his friends. Courfeyrac was dragging someone away from the center of the chaos with Bahorel who was shouting at Combeferre. Combeferre was tapping on Jehan's unresponsive face and just when Grantaire began to feel his heart slam back into his spine with fear, Jehan moved, his hand lifting and rubbing at his head.

Grantaire couldn't find the others. There were too many people running and screaming.

"Enjolras!" Grantaire spun on his heel when he heard Marius's shout rip from his throat. Marius was on the ground just inches away from where the bigger pieces of the stage had landed. Pushing himself to his hands and knees, Marius struggled to stand, fighting to run back towards the wreckage. That's when he saw his Apollo.

Enjolras was laying face first on the ground, the metal roof draped across his back like some kind of stiff blanket pinning him to the concrete. His fingers were clawing at the ground weakly and for a brief second Enjolras lifted his face enough for Grantaire see the sheer amount raw of pain he was in.

Grantaire wasn't sure when he had started running but he thinks it had been somewhere between watching Enjolras fall back down to the ground in defeat and seeing Bossuet running towards the fallen structure. Marius got there first, his hands around wrapping around the jagged edge of the roof and trying to lift. Enjolras let out a scream that was nothing short of total agony before he slammed his lips shut.

"Help me get it off him." Marius was shouting. Who was he shouting to? Enjolras started to look up but the searing fire that consumed his body kept him from moving.

"One…" That was Bossuet's voice. Enjolras thought he was with Musichetta. What was he doing here?

"Two…"

Maybe that had been on Sundays. Right, it was Sundays. What day was it then?

"Three!"

Fire. Absolutely fire. It was like someone had taken kerosene and drenched his clothes in them until he nearly drowned in it and set a box of matches on him. The fire crawled up his legs and made the muscles on his back clench sending his broken ribs into a chorus of screams.

Enjolras hid his face into his elbow unable to contain his cry as Marius and Bossuet lifted the metal off of his back.

"Put your arms around my neck," Grantaire said his voice tight and on the brink of screaming that Enjolras could hear that he was hiding. Enjolras mustn't have moved because Grantaire was grabbing his arms and wrapping them around his neck for him. Enjolras grasped his wrists but he could feel his strength leaking from him like oozing blood. Oh God, was he bleeding?

Grantaire clasped his arms around Enjolras's waist and tried to ease him out but Marius grounded out a cry from between his teeth.

"Hurry up!"

Grantaire dragged Enjolras out with a pained grunt, taking all of his weight and freeing him. Enjolras's legs gave out beneath him and he collapsed against Grantaire, his face falling into the crook of his neck. He smelled like sweat and blood and his leather jacket smelled faintly like whiskey even though Enjolras knew he had been sober for over eleven months now. The pain stole everything though and he was only vaguely aware of being lowered to the ground as everything narrowed.

Then was gone. Everything gone. His ears rang in the silence and the sky was black.

Oh God, where was everyone? Where was Marius? Where was Grantaire?

"-lras!" Where was he? "En-lras!"

His head was arched back and something was pressed up against his throat.

Joly's face was hovering above Enjolras's mouth as he checked for his breathing and pulse. When his friend moved the sun appeared again. So did the pain.

"Enjolras, can you hear me?"

He tried to say yes but the only sound that came out of his mouth was a cracked wounded sound that he was mortified to realize had come from him. Joly was saying something else but Enjolras was looking for Grantaire. Where…

"Marius," Joly said. Marius moved beside him and allowed Joly to guide his hands onto Enjolras's chin and the top of his head.

"Hold him here and here," Joly commanded like he was talking to a child. "Don't let him get up. Don't let him move until the ambulance takes over!"

Marius swallowed nervously and nodded to Joly. And then he was gone.

Joly would never just leave. The sight of blood may have sent him into hysterics but he was always the first one to tend to the wound. That meant there were more. More people like Enjolras. More people that were hurt.

"No, Enjolras." Grantaire appeared above Enjolras as if reading his mind.

"You can't move." Marius added. A whine left his lips that turned into a whimper when his chest ached from the movement. Grantaire grabbed his hand and tried to take the pain for his Apollo.

"I know," he said lightly. A small smile twitched at the corner of his lips but Grantaire couldn't hold it. It fell faster than the stage had and he squeezed Enjolras's hand again. "But listen to me for just this once."

"How-" Enjolras's voice caught in his throat when speaking seemed like he was running a marathon. He swallowed trying to ease the catch at the back of his throat but it did nothing except add to the tickle. Enjolras fought to keep from coughing. Coughing wasn't going to be a good idea at all. That much he could tell.

"How many?" He forced out squeezing his eyes shut and swallowing again. When he opened his eyes Marius and Grantaire were sharing a look between them.

Grantaire worried the inside of his lip until it started to bleed. He looked around at all the bodies on the ground, at the few sitting up and holding bleeding heads or various limbs, at the many more that weren't moving on the ground. Pieces of the stage littered the cement square. It seemed so strange. The diag had been the place to go when you had a break in between classes and just wanted a breath of fresh air. It was one of the few places someone could go to take a nap on the lawn and not get arrested or messed with. It was a space that everyone on campus mutually agreed was neutral territory. A safe place. All Grantaire could see was carnage and the peaceful fumes smelled like disaster now.

"Everything's going to be fine, Enjolras," Marius said trying to take his mind away from what he could only imagine.

"Grantaire," Enjolras said again. "How many people are-?"

Grantaire would never lie to Enjolras and Enjolras knew it. If he wasn't terrified by the pale green color crawling up Enjolras's skin, Grantaire would have hit him for using that against him.

"I don't know," He said truthfully, his voice taking on a gravelly whisper. "I don't know, Enjolras."

Enjolras swallowed again and coughed. His body lurch upward like he had been shocked and his hand clawed at his chest. Marius locked his arms, keeping his hands on Enjolras's head and Grantaire placed his free arm across Enjolras's hips. He kept his weight off the man but his arm stopped Enjolras from moving any further. But Enjolras was starting to panic as the oxygen struggled to get past his lips.

"Enjolras! Breathe!" He held Enjolras's hand to his own chest, breathing shallow but slow breaths. After some coaching and a nearly hysterical Marius, Enjolras's breathing began to even out. His breaths were wheezy and shaky but he was breathing and that was all that mattered at the moment.

The sound of wheels rattling against the pavement may have been one of the greatest sounds Grantaire had heard all day. Three paramedics raced towards them, dragging along a stretcher.

"Hi there, sweetie." The paramedic dropped to her knees besides Marius as another paramedic gently took over on holding Enjolras's head. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Julian Enjolras." Enjolras's grip on Grantaire's hand started to loosen but then the paramedic holding Enjolras's head pressed down and immobilized his head where as Marius had been afraid to hurt him even more. His hand around Grantaire's tightened.

"Ok, Julian," the woman said. "My names Louise. Can you tell me what happened?"

"The… The… The stage fell…" The pale color was crawling up Enjolras's face like a disease and his hand started to tremble in Grantaire's.

"And did you get hit by some of the metal or anything?"

"Yes…"

"He got trapped under it," Marius said in a near whisper. "It fell on him."

Grantaire stopped breathing for a second. The thought that Enjolras could have injured his spine hadn't occurred to him until then. He didn't even put two and two together when Joly had left Marius to stabilize Enjolras's head. He…

"We're going to need a cervical collar, Dave," Louise said to the last paramedic. He nodded and shifted through his bag but Enjolras jolted from under them. Apparently, he hadn't realized that either.

"No…" He said starting to get frantic again. "No. Please… I'm ok… I don't want…"

"Julian, it's ok. It's ok." Louise placed a soothing hand on Enjolras's chest, kind brown eyes shining with understanding. "We've got to put it on you so that you don't hurt yourself by move around too much. Once we are sure everything's ok we can take it off. But the doctor needs to check first."

Dave came over with the brace, the blue and white plastic looking intimidating as ever. Enjolras squeezed his eyes shut, his body taunt as a bow as Dave slide it under his neck. When the top part of the brace wrapped around the front of his neck though, Enjolras jolted again.

"Julian, you have to stay as still as possible. I know it's scary, sweetie."

"Please… take it off… take it off…" Enjolras's shaky breathing grew faster and he tried to bring his arm up. Louise grabbed his wrist though and held it away. Grantaire felt Enjolras try to let go of his hand but he held on. Grantaire understood. He had crashed his motorcycle a few years back and the neck brace had been scarier than lying in the street bleeding for the twenty minutes it took for him to be coherent enough to call 911.

"Can I?" He asked looking to Louise. She pressed her lips together and nodded.

"Enjolras," Grantaire said, his voice soothing and light. He waited until the bright blue eyes appeared from underneath the blond curls. Lifting his hand he brushed the curls aside so he could lock onto those blue blue eyes. "Watch me, ok? Just look at me."

Grantaire stared deep into Enjolras's eyes, commanding his attention as he pulled the Velcro as tight as he could around the brace. Enjolras was lost in a haze as he was secured into the neck brace and once Grantaire was finished he smiled down at Enjolras, taking his hand again.

"That was excellent, Julian." Louise praised sending a small smile over to Grantaire. "Now can you tell me where else you hurt? Where do you feel any pain?"

"Ribs."

The rest from there was cut and dry. Louise continued to ask Enjolras questions that served to distract him.

"Can you tell me how old you are?"

"Twenty."

"What classes are you taking this semester?"

"Economics… Legal issues of the eighties… Public speaking…"

"Sounds like someone is a PoliSci major."

Grantaire had to give it to her. She picked up quickly. If she had just kept to the same boring "what's your favorite color" Grantaire couldn't have promised that Enjolras wouldn't have just grown frustrated with her questioning. But she was writing them down on a chart and interspersing pointless questions with important ones and Enjolras loved nothing more than a survey.

* * *

The hospital waiting room wasn't as chaotic as the diag had been but Grantaire hated it all the same. The echo of his heart slamming into his chest was still there, reminding him any chance it could of what had happened. The memory seemed like a shriek in the silence of the waiting room.

He wrapped his arms tight around his chest as the hospital doors slide open with a rubbery screech, letting him out into the chill night air. He just needed air. He felt like he hadn't breathed since he ran from the stage. God, he shouldn't have stood so far away from him.

Grantaire took a sharp breath in through his nose and rubbed at his temple. No. He wasn't going to start thinking that way. That way led him down a dark hole that ended with a bunch of empty bottles around his unconscious body.

He was waiting for Combeferre to come let him know when Enjolras's doctor had come out when he heard a sniff to his left. It had gotten dark since earlier that day but he could make out the long gangly figure of Marius even in the shadows.

"Marius?" He asked, walking over to him slowly like a skittish animal. If Grantaire was being really honest, Marius looked like one with his eyes wide and face void of any sort of emotion. It seemed so wrong to see Marius so blank. Marius was one of the few that got about as passionate of all the shit they got into as Enjolras. Seeming so vacant just didn't look right on Marius.

Marius didn't say anything but then his eyebrows drew together, wrinkling the skin just above his nose and his lower lip puckered out.

"Marius." Grantaire tried again. He was getting real sick of having to repeat his friends' names today.

"He…shoved me…" Marius muttered. Green eyes shot up to demand something from Grantaire and he could see the intensity that rarely appeared in Marius burning like a flame.

"What?"

The wrinkled eyebrows dropped down and then up again as Marius wrapped his arms around himself, fists locked under his arms.

"The stage. He shoved me… in the back and I thought… I thought he just wanted me to move faster." It still amazed Grantaire how low Marius's voice could go. Marius being the guy that sounded like he'd been kicked in the balls when Cosette had walked in on Courfeyrac drunkenly laying a wet kiss on the startled Marius the other night. Now, his voice was deep and his words fried on his voice. Enjolras would have smacked him for ruining his vocal chords.

"He shoved me and then…" Oh. Grantaire hadn't been expecting that. Marius and Enjolras had been friends since they were kids. Enjolras would have taken a bullet for Marius. Was it really surprising to Marius that Enjolras would have shoved him out of the way?

But then Grantaire was then forced to ask himself how he would have felt if he was in Marius's place.

The Les Amis were definitely going to need to have a conversation with Enjolras about his self preservation skills. _Again. _

"Does someone want to tell me what the hell happened today?"

Daniel's voice was just as annoying without a microphone. Grantaire gritted his teeth together, reigning in his dark sinister anger that growled to life deep within his chest as he turned around to greet Daniel. Daniel stormed through the parking lot, his hunches raised like he was ready to raise hell, and he was pointing the metaphorical finger somewhere else.

"What do you mean? It was your rally!" Marius said back. Daniel threw his arms to the side, his face set in pure outrage.

"Yeah, well I don't make a habit of letting my stage fall on a crowd full of people!" Marius pushed himself off the wall and stood tall against Daniel who easily had three inches and twenty pounds of muscle on Marius.

"Tell me what the hell you're playing at! Messing with the stage like that is on you guys. Not me!" Daniel looked as unimpressed at Marius's attempts to defend himself as he would a small puppy. He glared at Grantaire instead.

"You're stage was one hot headed breath from you to collapsing before the rally even started." Grantaire retorted coolly. But Marius wasn't as cool as Grantaire was trying to stay and with the heat radiating off him he gave Daniel a sharp jab in the chest, his freckled face turning red.

"You could have gotten him killed!"

"Him? How is it my fault? Ya know what? I should have known. I should have fucking known. You guys show up to these rallies acting like your cause is superior to everyone else's when really you just pull shit like this. He's the one that used my rally to promote-"

"What did you just say?" Marius launched himself at Daniel but Grantaire held his friend back. Daniel tried to follow but Grantaire fisted the front of his shirt and held him close. Daniel may have had the height on him but Grantaire definitely had the muscle put up a fight if he wanted too. And he wanted too.

"You and I both know that he had nothing to do with the stage collapsing." Grantaire said in a low dangerous ton and Daniel's eyes widened. There was one rule with the drunken cynic: never threaten his Apollo. Only a few had and everyone one of them never ever did it again after Grantaire took care of them. A lot was said with one picture and Grantaire was great with pictures.

Daniel puffed out his chest and lifted his chin but Grantaire could feel him shaking with adrenaline nevertheless.

"No? I can say he did. My word against his."

"I think," Grantaire said. "You should worry about whether or not Enjolras can walk after your stage fell on him before you start to threaten him."

He let go of Daniel and stepped back to Marius.

"Grantaire!" Bahorel ran through the automated glass doors, just narrowly missing the door as he pushed his body through the opening. But the brunet stopped, his back straightening as the conflict in the air fed into Bahorel like sunlight to flowers. Tilting his head he glanced between Daniel and his friends. Though, Daniel couldn't see it, Marius and Grantaire could see the readied stance Bahorel adapted and the limber way his body swayed. Bahorel was ready to fight and knowing Bahorel, Grantaire was positive it would be a fight Daniel wouldn't win.

"Everything ok here?" Bahorel sided up next to Marius and Grantaire. Daniel kept his mouth shut though it was like his whole body wanted him to scream at them from the top of his lungs.

"Everything's fine. Daniel was leaving." Grantaire gave Daniel a pointed look and for a second no one moved before Daniel nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, Daniel!"

Daniel froze. Curling his fists at his side he glanced over his shoulder at Grantaire.

"If you're going to play that game, maybe you should see which one of you two walked away from that rally without a scratch on them."

The three friends didn't move until they were sure Daniel had walked away and disappeared into the darkness. When he was gone, Grantaire turned to Bahorel, who had eased into a relaxed slump of his shoulders.

"Enjolras's doctor came out. She's talking to Ferre now."

* * *

A woman in a pristine white coat was walking away from Combeferre when they returned. His glasses slide up his nose as he rubbed his eyes, falling into a tangle on his hand as he let out a deep sigh. For the second time that day, Grantaire felt like his heart had slammed into his back and was at risk of stopping all together.

But then Combeferre fixed his glasses and gave him a small smile.

"He's going to be ok," He said. "Four broken ribs, a sprained ankle, extensive bruising on his back, and they're keeping him overnight to watch him but he's going to be fine."

"I think your definition and Enjy's definition of fine are very different. But considering this is him we are talking about…" Courfeyrac said with a wide grin on his face. Slinging an arm over Marius's shoulders, he gave his withdrawn friend a slight shake. "What about you and I go get some coffee?"

Grantaire couldn't help the smile forming on his lips. There were a few of them that clearly fussed over the others more than the rest but Courfeyrac was the absolutely worst or at least the most annoying. Sure enough, Courfeyrac was already poking one of Marius's nostrils.

When Marius swatted at Courfeyrac hand though the small group reacted instantly.

"Marius!" Combeferre sighed out Marius's name like a curse and snatched his friend's hand before he could pull away.

Marius's palms were red and blistered, deep tears making the skin ugly and swollen. Some were clearly from when Enjolras had shoved him to the ground but the others could only have been from when he lifted the roof off him. The ragged metal must have torn the rest of his palm to pieces when they were pulling Enjolras's out.

"You idiot!" Courfeyrac retracted his arm from around Marius and smacked him on the head instead.

"Not helping, Courf." Bahorel muttered but it didn't ease the pout away from Courfeyrac's face.

"Go," Combeferre said to Grantaire. "Room 433. He's asking for you. Tell him we'll be around after this idiot gets a good round of tetanus."

Marius hissed out a breath from between his teeth when Courfeyrac poked at Marius's palm and tried to yank his hand from Combeferre. But Grantaire flicked Courfeyrac's ear for him instead.

"Ow!" Courfeyrac howled clamping his hand over his ear. Before he could retaliate though Grantaire jumped from his reach and made his way to the rooms.

When Grantaire reached Enjolras's room, he tried to ease the door open but it sounded too loud anyway. The room was shared with three other beds, the curtains drawn closed. A forced hush lingered and Grantaire nervously shoved his fist into his jean pocket. Grantaire spotted Enjolras as the nurse stood by his bed. He was laying on his stomach, the nurse gently putting ice packs on his back.

She smiled when Grantaire shuffled over to them, feeling awkward and out of place.

"He's asleep," she said in a whisper. "But he'll be happy to see you when he wakes up."

Grantaire nodded even though he wasn't sure how she would know that.

"Should he be on his…" He cleared his throat nervously. "Should he be on his stomach with his ribs?"

The nurse nodded and put one last ice pack on Enjolras's lower back.

"The bruising on his back would have caused him more pain. As long as he doesn't move around, his ribs should be fine." She said. "I'll be back in about twenty minutes to take these off."

Grantaire nodded and the nurse closed the curtain around Enjolras's bed as she left. Grantaire pulled the plastic chair next to Enjolras's bed and dropped into it with a sigh. The tension that had been rippling throughout his body eased away and he leaned forward to prop his hand on his fist.

Enjolras was always a sight to be seen when he was sleeping. He had about forty different versions of Enjolras like this drawn in his sketchbook. His thick dirty blond curls that made him look like he'd been in a boy band, looped around his ear and coiled at the nap of his neck. Grantaire brushed the curls out of his face with his finger before dragging it slowly over Enjolras's jawline. Then he traced his finger over his top lip, the Cupid's bow, and down to the corner that would tilted upward at the familiar touch.

Grantaire brushed the curls back again and let his hand rest on Enjolras's head as he leaned down to see those blue eyes. Kissing Enjolras's nose, he ran his thumb along the blond's brow.

"Hey," he said. Enjolras smiled.

"Hey," Enjolras said back.

"Let's not do that ever again. Ok?" He whispered seriously.

"Someone's got to stick up for the elephants." Grantaire rolled his eyes and kneaded Enjolras's scalp.

"Well, I hate elephants." Enjolras melted into his touch. "Let the elephants fend for themselves for a while. Let's focus on human rights or something less likely to trample people."

Enjolras snorted at the poorly timed joke but nodded. Stretching his arm out, he snatched Grantaire's other hand and pulled his wrist towards him. A few moments later, he was asleep again with Grantaire beside him.

They could hear Courfeyrac lecturing Marius when the nurse came back into the room to take off Enjolras's ice packs.


End file.
